Original subtitles

ARCHER: Bio-signs? - None that I can detect.

But its hull seems to be scattering our sensors.

Any idea what happened?

I'm not reading any weapon signatures.

Possibly some sort of accident.

ARCHER: Bring it into Launch Bay 2.

There's no windows.

I'm not sure whether this end's the bow or the stern.

[DEVICE BEEPS]

T'POL: Captain.

This might be a hatch.

If it is, it's been fused shut.

With your permission, sir?

[BEEPS]

[COUGHING]

[BEEPS]

[DEVICE BEEPS]

He's human.

PHLOX: This was a human male.

A microcellular scan should tell us his age at the time of death.

Apparently, you're not the first humans out this far.

Whoever this is, he's rewritten our history books.

Can you get a DNA sample?

The tissue damage is extensive,

but I should be able to isolate a few fragments.

If he's a member of Starfleet, his genetic profile

is probably in our database.

Run a comparison as soon as you can.

Absolutely.

There aren't any ships or inhabited systems for several light years.

ARCHER: I wonder

if this could be Zefram Cochrane.

They say he was piloting a one-man vessel when he disappeared.

How could he have traveled this far?

There were a lot of rumors after he was lost.

One of them said he was testing some kind of experimental warp ship.

Any markings on the hull or control panels?

We haven't found any.

The hull seems to absorb EM radiation.

Without all this damage,

it never would've shown up on our sensors.

Some kind of stealth ship.

So, what do you think, Travis?

Could this pilot have been a cargo hauler?

We're more than 30 light years from the nearest trade route.

I don't see how he could have made it out this far.

Maybe he got a ride from someone.

That's got to be a world record for hitchhiking.

I still can't find any plasma exhaust ports.

Not even a thruster quad.

There's nothing here that looks like a power source.

How did this make it into deep space without an engine?

REED: Could be an escape pod.

Even an escape pod would need some kind of propulsion system.

Any new mission you haven't told us about?

FORREST [ON SCREEN]: I wish there was.

It's possible the ship you found was launched from Vega Colony,

but they're a long way behind you now.

The Earth Cargo Authority may have more information.

Phlox has sent a request to Dr. Cochrane's family.

They're transmitting his genetic profile.

A hundred light years from Earth,

you might have solved the greatest missing-person case of the century.

If we haven't,

we've discovered an even bigger mystery.

[BOTH GRUNTING]

Commander.

Registers as some kind of bio-matter.

Organic circuitry?

Maybe we should get Phlox to come down and take a look.

Not a bad idea.

What's this?

- Malcolm? - I see it.

TRIP: Good. Means I'm not hallucinating.

How could a ship be bigger on the inside than the outside?

Could be a hologram.

Hand me that hyperspanner.

[SPANNER CLANKS]

You're not going down there?

Gotta get my spanner back.

We should call the Bridge first. Let them know...

Say again, Malcolm?

This gives space exploration a whole new meaning.

I've read a few papers on spatial geometry.

But I never heard a theory that would explain this.

The captain will never believe us.

He's gonna have to see this for himself.

What do you think?

A warp reactor?

You're the engineer.

Looks like a breach,

overload of some kind.

[BEEPING]

I'm picking up an energy signature.

It's very faint.

[COMPUTER BEEPS]

Sir, a vessel's dropped out of warp.

They're on an intercept course.

It's Suliban.

Let's see it.

Minimal weapons. I don't believe it's a combat ship.

[COMPUTER BEEPS]

We're being hailed.

You have something that belongs to us.

I don't believe I've had the pleasure...

We have a salvage claim on the vessel in your launch bay.

One of our cell ships discovered it three days ago.

We were sent to retrieve it.

That ship's an Earth vessel.

The pilot's human.

I'm not interested in the corpse.

Decompress your launch bay and release the vessel.

I'm curious...

What's your interest in that ship?

There's not much left.

The vessel. Now.

They're charging weapons.

ARCHER: You might wanna contact your superiors,

ask for a man named Silik.

He'll tell you I don't respond well to threats.

[BOTH GRUNTING]

This could be a release pin.

Let's get it to Engineering.

Forward plating is holding.

Bring us about, Travis.

Power the phase cannons.

See what you can do about their weapons.

Tucker to the Bridge.

The com's down.

[GRUNTS]

Commander.

[COMPUTER BEEPING]

Someone's trying to open Launch Bay 2.

Lock them out.

I can't.

Archer to Trip.

Send a security team down there. Return fire.

Their weapons have been disabled.

Target their engines,

- and bring the grappler online. - Sir?

They wanted that ship pretty badly. I'd like to know why.

They're moving off.

Stay with them.

I've lost them, sir.

ARCHER: Captain's starlog, supplemental.

We've contacted the Vulcan ship Tal'Kir.

They've agreed to meet us in three days

to take the craft back to Earth.

Hopefully, we won't have another visit from the Suliban

before we reach the rendezvous point.

It was heavily shielded.

Whatever this thing is, it must be pretty important.

ARCHER: What's your guess?

Might be the black box.

It could tell us what happened, maybe even who built the vessel.

TRIP: That's assuming we can get it working.

It seems to use the same organic circuitry as the rest of the ship.

I gotta take you down into that chamber.

- You're not gonna believe your eyes. - Bigger on the inside?

PHLOX [OVER COM]: Sickbay to Captain Archer.

Archer.

PHLOX: I need to see you immediately.

I managed to find only a few undamaged cells.

But they were enough to complete a genetic analysis.

ARCHER: Any match in the Starfleet database?

No.

But I did discover that our guest is no ordinary human.

I found an unusual deviation in this nucleotide sequence.

At first, I thought I was looking at some kind of mutation.

But there was something familiar about the chromosome structure.

So I widened my search to include the interspecies database.

This nucleotide sequence is Vulcan.

How did a human end up with Vulcan DNA?

The likeliest explanation is that he had at least one Vulcan ancestor,

further back than a great-grandparent.

That's not possible.

We haven't known the Vulcans long enough.

I also found genetic material belonging to several other species.

This sequence is Terrellian.

There's another I can't identify.

I believe this individual is the result of several generations

of interspecies breeding.

Thank you, doctor.

T'Pol.

A database from the future?

Our time-traveling friend Daniels left it in his quarters.

I'm not certain Daniels would approve of this.

We'll keep it to ourselves.

A Vulcan cruiser.

I don't recognize the configuration.

That's because it hasn't been built yet.

Few Vulcans have ever chosen to mate with another species.

Worried about contaminating your genome

with a little human DNA?

There are significant biological differences between the species.

It's unlikely we could reproduce.

Humans and Vulcans.

That could be it.

The dorsal section is the wrong shape.

If a human and a Vulcan did have a child,

I wonder if he'd have pointed ears.

There.

I think that's it.

Look at the commission date.

That's almost 900 years from now.

Daniels talked about historians from the future,

people who traveled back to study the past.

That could be what this pilot was doing.

This says it's powered by a temporal displacement drive.

If the Suliban get their hands on this,

they'll take it apart,

maybe learn how the engine works.

That could change the course of the Temporal Cold War.

Assuming the vessel is from the future,

why haven't they retrieved it?

[COM BEEPS]

Archer.

MAYWEATHER [OVER COM]: Another alien vessel's approaching

at high warp.

Suliban?

MAYWEATHER: No, sir. We can't identify them.

Twenty thousand kilometers and closing.

T'Pol?

The vessel's Tholian.

They're extremely xenophobic.

The High Command's had limited contact with them.

Captain, it's unusual for Tholians to travel this far from their system.

[COMPUTER BEEPS]

I'm getting unusual thermal readings.

It's awfully warm inside that ship, more than 200 degrees.

They're believed to be a nonhumanoid species.

Open a channel.

This is Captain Archer of the starship...

[THOLIAN SPEAKING IN SCREECHY ALIEN LANGUAGE OVER COM]

THOLIAN [OVER COM]: Jonathan Archer,

[THOLIAN SPEAKING IN ALIEN LANGUAGE]

Please establish communication.

Is there something we can do for you?

[THOLIAN SPEAKING IN ALIEN LANGUAGE]

THOLIAN: We were sent to retrieve the vessel.

I'd like to know how you heard about that ship.

[THOLIAN SPEAKING IN ALIEN LANGUAGE]

THOLIAN: It is dangerous to you.

Temporal radiation.

Thanks for the warning.

But we can't give it to you.

[THOLIAN SPEAKING IN ALIEN LANGUAGE]

They've locked on to us with a tractor beam.

We're losing speed.

Hull plating. Arm the aft torpedoes.

That beam's interfering with our targeting scanners.

Release us.

Or I'll destroy the ship in our launch bay.

Do you hear me?

[THOLIAN SPEAKING IN ALIEN LANGUAGE]

What did he say?

I don't know.

But I don't think he was paying you a compliment.

[SIGHS]

I wonder if there's anyone else

who thinks they have a claim on that ship.

May I join you?

Please.

I found another nucleotide sequence in the pilot's genome.

It appears to be Rigelian. Ha, ha.

That corpse is full of surprises.

Mm, mm.

I didn't realize how late it was until my stomach reminded me

it was time to eat, ha, ha.

Ah, you seem to be engrossed in your work, as well.

The captain asked me to perform a metallurgical analysis

of the vessel's hull.

Anything noteworthy?

I've discovered several unusual alloys.

One of them is in a semifluidic state.

Hmm. More mysteries.

To say the least.

[CHUCKLES]

I understand Captain Archer believes

that the vessel traveled here from the future.

That's his theory.

Genetic anomalies, unexplainable alloys.

The evidence seems to be mounting.

Perhaps.

Ah. The Vulcan Science Directorate.

They've always been rather reluctant to embrace unorthodox ideas.

After they review our findings,

I have a feeling they might reconsider their opinion of time travel.

It's not an opinion.

It's simple logic.

There was a time when Denobulans believed

they were the only intelligent species in the galaxy. Hmm.

Needless to say, it was quite a surprise when the B'Saari made first contact.

Many refused to accept the truth,

even with the evidence standing right in front of them.

It took some time and it wasn't easy,

but eventually, we were forced to reevaluate our beliefs.

Are you saying you believe time travel is possible?

Surprises, sub-commander.

I believe in embracing surprises.

I prefer to embrace logic.

If you'll excuse me, doctor.

Good night.

TRIP: All right, let's start reinitializing the power grid.

REED: Assuming that is the power grid.

It boggles the mind if you think about it.

What does?

That ship could be from the 31 st century.

When I was young, I always wanted to build a time machine,

see the future.

You're the kind of person who jumps to the end of the book

before you read it.

Don't tell me you've never wondered what it'd be like,

how our mission will turn out.

Well, wondering about the future and knowing it are two different things.

REED: If Daniels came here

and offered you a chance to go to the 31 st century,

you wouldn't take it?

Some things are better left a mystery.

And you call yourself an explorer.

Where is the fun in exploring if you know how it all turns out?

Hand me that micro-caliper.

Suppose you could look into some future book,

find out the name of the woman you're gonna marry.

- Would you wanna know it? - Absolutely.

Think of all the awkward first dates I could avoid.

Fine. So one day you meet Jane Doe.

You go out a few times, then you pop the question.

She says, "I do," and the two of you live happily ever after.

Sounds perfect.

Now, did you marry her for love

or because some book told you to?

If we're "happily ever after," what difference does it make?

TRIP: Well, we've got power.

Now we've gotta figure out how to tap into these organic circuits.

They're similar to the ones in the cockpit.

Hmm. We might be able to salvage some of them,

build an interface.

Now, if I had a chance to see the past, I'd jump at it.

I always wanted to meet a stegosaurus.

He'd probably make a quick meal of you.

The stegosaurus was an herbivore.

If I could travel back in time, I know exactly what year I'd pick:

1588.

What happened in 1588?

England defeated the Spanish Armada.

TRIP: I'm sure someone named Reed had a lot to do with that.

If I had a chance to see the past, I'd jump at it.

I always wanted to meet a stegosaurus.

He'd probably make a quick meal of you.

The stegosaurus was an herbivore.

It seems like we were just in here.

If I could travel back, I know exactly what year I'd pick.

- Fifteen eighty-eight? - Fifteen eighty-eight.

How did I know you were gonna say that?

I think we're spending too much time together.

[TRIP CHUCKLES]

Now, if I had a chance to see the past, I'd jump at it.

"I always wanted to meet a stegosaurus."

"He'd probably make a quick meal of you."

"The stegosaurus was a herbivore."

TRIP: It was the weirdest thing. When we were next to the ship,

it felt like we were having the same conversation over and over again.

Hmm. I can't find anything wrong with either of you.

We didn't imagine what happened.

Captain, the craft is emitting some type of high-energy particles.

This may be the temporal radiation the Tholians warned us about.

We spent a fair amount of time around that ship.

The particle density's quite low.

It's unlikely to have any lasting effects.

How do you explain what happened?

The radiation could have affected your perception of time.

Or maybe they really were reliving the same moment.

Seal off Launch Bay 2, and evacuate the surrounding sections.

I don't wanna take any chances.

How are you coming with the black box?

The power's online, but we still can't access the data.

Let me know as soon as you find anything. Dismissed.

Can I speak with you?

The radiation could spread to other sections,

affect more systems.

We'll keep an eye on it.

The Vulcans are only a few hours away.

I'm not certain we'll survive that long.

We've attracted the attention of two hostile species.

It's logical to assume they're searching for us.

I'm pretty sure we can steer clear of them.

Perhaps you should destroy the vessel.

I'm not gonna do that.

I'm tired of these factions interfering with our century.

It's time we took a more active interest in this war,

gathered some intelligence ourselves.

Assuming, for the moment, the Temporal Cold War exists,

I believe we shouldn't get involved.

Like it or not, we've been involved since we left space dock.

Daniels hinted

that there were other factions in this conflict.

Maybe the Tholians are working for one of them.

Your curiosity is placing Enterprise in unnecessary danger.

This is the first chance we've had to get some answers.

I'm not gonna pass it up.

The Vulcans can get that ship back to Earth in a few weeks.

- Starfleet will take it from there. - Captain...

I told you.

I've made my decision.

If the Suliban return, they may be cloaked.

I recommend we go to tactical alert?

- What do you have? - It's what we don't have.

This isn't a black box.

Thought it was a data-storage matrix. After we got the power running,

it started generating a subspace signature.

I think it's a micro-transmitter, some kind of emergency beacon.

T'POL [OVER COM]: Bridge to Captain Archer.

Several Suliban vessels are approaching.

ARCHER: On my way. T'POL: Acknowledged.

The ships will be within weapons range in 20 seconds.

Go to maximum warp.

They're matching our speed.

- How long to the rendezvous point? - Less than three minutes.

Contact the Tal'Kir.

Let them know we're bringing company.

No response.

[COMPUTER BEEPS]

We're being hailed, by the Suliban.

I see you've brought some friends.

Drop out of warp and prepare to be boarded.

Or what? You're not gonna risk any more damage to that ship.

They're charging weapons.

Take a look at your long-range sensors.

There's a Vulcan combat cruiser a few million kilometers from here.

Unless you want to upset them, I suggest you turn around.

The Vulcans won't risk their ship for an Earth vessel.

Aft cannon. Return fire.

We're losing ventral plating.

- The Vulcans? - Six hundred thousand kilometers.

Direct hit to the launch bay doors.

They're trying to blast them open.

Hold your course and speed.

Two hundred thousand kilometers.

Take us out of warp.

- Bio-signs? - The crew's alive.

The vessel is disabled.

Their com system's down.

[COMPUTER BEEPING]

MAYWEATHER: Captain.

Take us back to warp.

Engines are down.

ARCHER: Weapons? - They're off-line too.

The hull plating is depolarizing.

The cell ships have dropped out of warp.

I never thought I'd be glad to see the Suliban.

Trip, we could use warp engines right about now.

The antimatter injectors are fused. I'll need a few hours to replace them.

ARCHER [OVER COM]: How about weapons?

Every power relay on the ship's been scrambled.

ARCHER: Then forget everything else. Get that beacon working.

- Sir? - Whoever built that ship

might be able to send help.

Aye, captain.

Even if you're correct, it's unlikely help will arrive in time.

ARCHER: How long would it take to remove one of the torpedo warheads,

arm it manually?

Four minutes, less if I had some help.

I recommend moving the warhead as little as possible once we remove it.

ARCHER: We'll bring the torpedo to launch bay.

Work on it there. You have the Bridge.

I'm gonna hold you to that four minutes.

- It was only an estimate, sir. - They don't make this easy, do they?

I'm going to release the couplings.

You'll need to disconnect the power conduits.

The blue and red ones first.

Turn the release counterclockwise until you feel it detach.

- Commander? - I need that power module.

CREWMAN: Yes, sir.

All right, hand me a micro-caliper.

Bridge to Captain Archer.

Go ahead.

T'POL [OVER COM]: The Suliban have lost more than half of their ships.

You don't have much time.

We're working as fast as we can. Stand by.

Sir, if you'll hold it by the locking brace...

I'm gonna hold you to that four minutes.

It was only an estimate, sir.

It's happening again.

We've had this conversation before.

You're right.

- How far did we get last time? - I'm not certain.

I think we may have removed the warhead.

If time's not repeating outside the launch bay,

the Tholians could be close.

We'd better hurry. The red and blue conduits, right?

[COMPUTER BEEPING]

The cell ships.

They've been destroyed.

How many?

All of them.

The Tholians are on an intercept course.

[COMPUTER BEEPS]

They're hailing us.

[THOLIAN SPEAKING IN ALIEN LANGUAGE]

THOLIAN [OVER COM]: Give us the vessel.

We're prepared to surrender it to you.

But our launch bay doors took heavy damage.

We're going to need more time.

I have a repair team working on it, but they estimate it will take...

[THOLIAN SPEAKING IN ALIEN LANGUAGE]

Two of their ships are approaching the saucer section.

Eighty meters, forty...

They've locked on to both docking ports.

Seal the hatches and send security teams.

Get to the control room.

- I'll take it from here. - Aye, captain.

I'm gonna you to that four minutes.

It was only an estimate, sir.

How many times do you think we've done this?

At least twice, maybe more.

Let's hope we've got it down by now.

They're cutting through the doors.

Control room.

[BEEPING]

Let's get those doors open.

- Now. - I'd recommend putting more distance

- between us and that ship... - Now.

T'Pol to Captain Archer.

They've neutralized the warhead.

On our way.

Sir, it's gone.

Gone?

It dematerialized, and it's not aboard the Tholian ships.

[COMPUTER BEEPING]

They're disengaging.

- Why didn't they fire on us? - Good question.

They may have only wanted the vessel.

The Vulcans?

Their warp drive is damaged.

But life support is stable.

Let's see if we can give them a hand.

Prep a shuttlepod.

Have Doctor Phlox meet us in Launch Bay 1.

HOSHI: Aye, sir.

ARCHER: Captain's starlog, supplemental.

A Vulcan transport is en route to tow the Tal'Kir.

Fortunately, there were no casualties.

Our long-range scanners show no sign

of Tholians or Suliban in our vicinity.

I wish we'd had more time to explore that ship.

Who knows how many other rooms were down there?

Looks like they sent the whole kit and caboodle

back to the 31 st century.

There's no evidence to support that.

Well, there's no evidence to contradict it, either.

What I don't understand is

how quickly everything disappeared.

That beacon was online for less than a minute.

You're forgetting that time is irrelevant to these people.

Irrelevant?

If that vessel was from the future,

whoever sent it had plenty of time to locate the signal

and then travel back to any point in time to retrieve it.

Hmm.

Well, unfortunately, time isn't irrelevant in my engine room.

- Hmm. - I've got repairs to finish.

- See you later. ARCHER: Mm-hm.

Sub-commander.

[DOOR OPENS THEN CLOSES]

I'm going to contact the High Command,

apologize for all the trouble we caused them.

As the captain of the Tal'Kir pointed out,

a ship can be replaced.

I also need to thank them for helping us out.

I'm sure the gesture would be appreciated.

The High Command has asked me to prepare a report on this incident,

with your permission.

By all means.

I wonder

if they'll believe that humans and Vulcans will be

swapping chromosomes one day.

They're more likely to believe in time travel.